1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a musical instrument transducer, and pertains, more particularly, to a piezoelectric transducer used with a stringed musical instrument and preferably for use with a guitar.
2. Background Discussion
At the present time, the prior art shows a variety of electromechanical transducers employing piezoelectric materials such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,580 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,051. Most of these piezoelectric transducers are not completely effective in faithfully converting mechanical movements or vibrations into electrical output signals which precisely correspond to the character of the input vibrations. This lack of fidelity is primarily due to the nature of the mechanical coupling between the driving vibratile member and the piezoelectric material. Some of these prior art structures such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,051 and 4,975,616 are also quite complex in construction and become quite expensive to fabricate.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved piezoelectric transducer particularly for use with a stringed musical instrument such as a guitar.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved transducer as in accordance with the preceding object and which provides for the faithful conversion of string vibrations into electrical signals that substantially exactly correspond with the character of such vibrations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric transducer made of a polyvinylidene co-polymer with enhanced performance.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved musical instrument transducer as in accordance with the preceding objects and which is relatively simple in construction, can be readily fabricated and which can also be constructed relatively inexpensively.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved musical instrument transducer that is readily adapted for retrofit to existing stringed instruments without requiring any substantial modification thereto.